


Let's Go Home

by gmariam19 (gmariam)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bounty Hunter Poe, Happy Ending, M/M, Narrative Style, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, What-If, What-if they lost at Exegol?, injured Finn, searching for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25641244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gmariam/pseuds/gmariam19
Summary: The Resistance lost the Battle of Exegol, and the First Order soon rules the galaxy. Finn and Poe spend the next year recovering, running, hiding, and trying to find one another in the midst of chaos.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 9
Kudos: 60





	Let's Go Home

Let's Go Home

_The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. ~ Leo Tolstoy_

Finn doesn't remember how they got off the Star Destroyer, how they survived anything after the battle turned. He remembers the moment Rey died, the moment he said goodbye to Poe—and everything else after that is a blur. Blocked, maybe repressed. He survived the fall, but was injured in an explosion, apparently trying to save a pilot from a fallen ship. Medical supplies were non-existent, and though the others did the best they could, the burns to his left side were serious. His hand healed improperly and his face scarred. It was dark and hard and painful, and most of the time, he doesn't want to remember those first days and weeks.

Yet somehow, they survive the end of the world. Those few of them left band together, find food and shelter and safety far from the ruins of their defeat. Finn suspects the Final Order doesn't bother with them because they are so focused on their final triumph. Thousands of ships with hundreds of thousands of soldiers disappear into the galaxy, ending any hope of victory for the Resistance. The few ragtag fighters left behind are like insects that no longer sting; surely, they will die of their injuries, of exposure. Somehow, they don't.

BB-8 was heavily damaged, yet with one good hand and any spare parts he can find, Finn manages to get the little droid almost back to his old self. His long-range transmitter is ruined beyond repair and he loses his balance more than he used to, but the astromech tries to help as much as he can, and Finn is glad of the connection to his old life, to Poe and Rey.

After a month, they settle into a routine of survival; after three, they have a small camp where others make their way, working together to survive the brutal conditions on Exegol. News is scarce, but they know the war is over, and that the First Order has won. Finn leads them as best as he can, relying on Jannah for her support. She knows too well the challenges of starting over on a harsh world.

He begins to explore the Force on his own, scraping together everything he can remember from Rey. BB-8 contributes his own insights into Rey's training, though more often than not, something is lost in translation. It is frustrating, trying to figure it out on his own, yet Finn feels his gift grow stronger, and learns to control it more. Maybe it will make up for his useless left hand.

After six months, they have enough scavenged parts to finish a working transport ship that will get them off this hellhole world.

When Poe had taken what was left of the Resistance fleet and fled back to Ajan Kloss, Finn had promised he would make it off that destroyer, that he would survive, and that one day, he would find Poe. For six months that has been his only guiding thought. Rey is dead, the Resistance is disbanded, and the Final Order will soon rule the entire galaxy. Finn doesn't think about continuing the fight, about defeating them and bringing freedom to the New Republic. His only thought is to find Poe. And he will.

* * *

Poe remembers the moment he lost everything like it was yesterday. First Leia, and then Snap, and Rey and half the Resistance fleet. And then Finn, along with BB-8. Only Poe will find Finn, because he _knows_ the other man isn't dead. Because Finn promised he'd get off that ship, get off that planet. That he would survive and find Poe. And goddammit, it's the only thing that keeps Poe going most days, that Finn is somewhere out there. Alive and safe with BB-8, like after Jakku.

Except this time, Rey is not with them.

Poe promised Finn that he would survive, that he would lead what was left of the Resistance to safety, and that he would see Finn again one day. It could be six months or six years, but Poe will never lose that faith. He believes; it is one of the only thing he believes, now.

They make it back to Ajan Kloss only to have it blown out from under them. They flee system after system, trailing death and destruction. Until Poe sends everyone who's left away—it's not many of them—and tells them to lay low for three months. To recover, recuperate. To find allies and support, as covertly as possible, and let the storm pass before they reunite to fight again.

Poe goes to Yavin IV, hiding out in the jungle near his father's ranch. He wants so badly to see him, but knows he'd put Kes Dameron in terrible danger if he so much as leaves a note. He is alone, and it is hard, but he survives. He finds the time on his own to be cathartic in a way he would not have expected. He makes plans, renews his commitment to continuing the fight one day soon.

Now it is time to gather again, to see what they can salvage from the ruins of defeat. Poe takes his mother's old A-wing (and this time he does leave a short, virtually untraceable note) and makes his way to the meeting point on Dantooine. It is time for the rebirth of the Resistance, and Poe hopes more than anything that Finn will be there.

* * *

They make it off Exegol, but the ship is damaged as they are chased by TIE fighters. They barely escape into hyperspace and cannot make it all the way to Kef Bir without dropping out. Still, Finn is glad to be alive and away from Exegol, because now he can search for Poe. BB-8 scans incoming data—news, propaganda, transmissions—for any mention of his master, but finds nothing to help them. The Resistance is gone.

They were chased out of multiple systems until the Emperor declared them all dead and the Resistance over. But there are still bounties on several of their heads – including Poe Dameron. So Poe must still be alive—and the First Order still wants him.

They limp back to Kef Bir. Several of them were injured in the escape and they need time to recover, and to repair the ship. Finn continues his work with the Force in the shadow of the ruined Death Star. He grows stronger, though his left hand will never work the same. And he helps repair the ship, more determined than ever to leave Kef Bir and find Poe.

* * *

Finn does not come to Dantooine.

Still, there are more of them now than after Crait, and for that Poe is grateful. They have less support, but having gone through it once, Poe knows how to do it again. How to hold them together, how to reach out and form new alliances. He knows the fear is there, across the galaxy, waiting for someone to step up and lead the fight against their new oppressors. For now, he will be that man.

It is lonely and difficult, but little by little, the Resistance grows. But he wishes Finn was there, hopes that he will find them, because Poe needs him, more than anything.

* * *

It is two months before the ship is ready to fly again. Finn takes BB-8 and several others with him as they set out to find the remnants of the Resistance. They scrape by doing odd jobs in the nearest spaceport they can make to it—Trindello, a small, backwater settlement that only exists because it sits on a hyperspace route. They lay low and save up for another load of fuel and food before moving on to Batuu, where Finn hopes he might find some sort of friendly contact for information on the Resistance.

He doesn't. Batuu is overrun with First Order troops and no one talks. They move on. Finn adapts his look as they move from place to place across the Outer-Rim, and hopes the scars on his face blur his identity; he paints BB-8, and the little droid hates it so much he retreats into himself.

A month goes by, and there's still a large bounty on Poe. They hear little about the Resistance other than how they were defeated and disbanded. He doesn't believe it. Finn knows there is no way that Poe would give up. He's out there somewhere, biding his time, building his forces. Finn believes this more than anything. He keeps looking.

* * *

After two months, they are forced to leave Dantooine, losing Kin and D'arcy and several others as they flee. They make their way to Lothal to start over yet again. Poe's angry. He's tired of watching his friends die and starting to lose hope that they can do this, that he will ever see Finn again. He almost leaves, desperate to set out on his own to find Finn, but Jess and Rose and the others talk him back. He is still their leader.

They've got six Starfighters, and he paints them all black with a flaming red starbird on the underbelly. They become Shadow Squadron, striking from nowhere and leaving no sign of their existence behind, only complete destruction. It begins with small supply runs—stealing from First Order stockpiles. Poe feels no guilt whatsoever in using their own supplies and weapons against them. They blow the rest to hell if they can't carry it. They take out TIE squadrons wherever they can; they destroy a small First Order shipyard. Sometimes, it almost feels good.

They need more. So they scavenge the remnants of D'qar, of the _Colossus_ , and even the fleet graveyard on Exegol. Which is when they hear of the survivors. Of General Finn and his droid and the ship that left four months ago to return to Kef Bir seek out the Resistance. They take the rest of the small camp back to Lothal with them. Poe barely sets foot on the ground before he's back in his A-wing and setting course for the Endor system.

* * *

Finn is sitting in a dark and dirty cantina on Mos Espa, still searching for any sign the Resistance, when an Aqualish drops a chip on the floor at his feet. He slides his boot over it, waiting to lean over and pick it up. Then he finishes his drink, tosses some credits on the bar and leaves. For two months, they've been following every lead they can, all of them turning up empty. He has little doubt this will be the same. Even BB-8 is losing hope.

Slipping the chip into his datapad back on the ship, Finn gasps as a detailed list of names—many he knows, but some he doesn't—slip by. Poe is at the top of the list. _Identified Resistance fugitives. Last known location: Dantooine._ Finn remembers Poe telling him about some of the old Rebel bases—Hoth, Yavin, Dantooine. It makes sense that he would return to such a place. They set out immediately.

But when they get to the other side of the galaxy, it's been destroyed. The Resistance is gone, and the trail is cold.

* * *

Kef Bir is empty when Poe arrives, nothing but a burned-out husk of a village, the scent of dead orbak rotting on the sea breeze. Somehow, they were discovered, and Poe finds no trace of any survivors, no sign of Finn or BB-8...until he finds a very familiar vest with red and blue stripes. Poe shouts his fury to the waves, kicking at a ruined tent before he falls to his knees and weeps for the first time in months.

Finn is not there, and the trail is cold.

* * *

The First Order finds them after Dantooine, and they narrowly escape being captured. Jannah and Fortin and the others want to return to Kef Bir, and Finn says his goodbyes. He is not ready to stop searching, to give up and settle down. He will find Poe and the remnants of the Resistance, even if he has to do it with only BB-8 to help him.

They travel through spaceport after spaceport across the Mid-Rim, watching the galaxy fall further into the rule of the First Order. He wonders what happened to Chewie and Lando and Connix and Rose and the other pilots. More than anything, he wonders what happened to Poe, and hopes that he is safe, wherever he is.

* * *

Poe returns to Lothal to leave their small group in Rose Tico's capable hands. She doesn't think she can do it, but she can: she is stronger than she believes, and Poe promises he will return. He sends several others out as well, to find more allies and support. They will all return in one month. He will find Finn; failure is not an option.

He flies to Kef Bir in a two-seater Y-wing, leaving his mom's ship with Jess and Shadow Squadron. From there he heads to the spaceport at Trindello and starts asking questions. And when he hears about a group of ragged travelers with a BB-series droid looking for work several months back, something tells him it could be Finn. Asking more questions gets him answers, but also gets him picked up by the authorities. He's lucky to talk his way out of it, quickly adopting the story he'll use for the rest of his search: he's a bounty hunter, new to the game and looking for his first mark. It's a stretch, and Poe knows he's not only lucky to get away with it, but he'll have to do a lot more to make it believable if he's going to keep using it.

It turns out the old Twi'lek who lets him go knows exactly who he is and helps him get what he needs to make it believable: weapons, clothing, credits, paperwork. And he tells Poe that Finn's crew—because of course it was General Finn, the Stormtrooper defector—headed to Batuu next.

* * *

Finn quickly grows sick of run-down spaceports, of buying passage to the next one, of avoiding the First Order. He still has no more word on Poe Dameron or the Resistance other than a vague rumor of them on Lothal, but he can't find passage. He considers going back to Kef Bir to regroup and makes his way to the spaceport at Trindello. Where he hears the news that Kef Bir was destroyed by the First Order.

Walking into another dirty bar to try and learn more, he's immediately accosted by an older Twi'lek who insists on buying him a drink. Who places a cloaker on the table when they sit down to talk. Who tells him that Poe Dameron is alive, and looking for him.

Finn's heart almost stops. He's dizzy. It's been so long, and he's traveled so far. BB-8 is practically bouncing at Finn's knees. He focuses, asks for more. Poe left weeks ago, taking the cover of a bounty hunter looking for Finn. He was going to track Finn through his travels.

Finn decides to wait for Poe to catch up there, rather than trailing after him and always missing him. It's the most hope he's felt for months. It has to work. Finn is tired of running.

* * *

Poe winces every time he flies into another dingy spaceport, sits down in another shady cantina. Mos Espa is one of the worst, but he also has his best news yet: Finn was here, maybe a month ago. The Aqualish who sits next to Poe at the bar tells him Finn received word of a Resistance hide-out on Dantooine.

Which is, of course, completely destroyed; Poe was there when it happened.

Poe flies out there anyway, ignoring exhaustion and hunger. He sneaks onto the ruins of their short-lived base and searches for any sign that Finn had been there, falling to his knees when he thinks he sees the relatively recent track of a BB-series droid. Finn, and BB-8 with him. But where would he go next?

* * *

A week goes by with nothing. Finn stays under the radar, quietly asking around for any scrap of information he can possibly find on Poe Dameron, the Resistance, anything. He hears rumors about Kef Bir, that a ship of survivors made it to Murk before moving on. It gives him hope. So he waits, and he takes work, and he spends all his spare time reassuring BB-8 that Poe will find them there. He has to.

* * *

Poe follows the trail until he's almost collapses from exhaustion. His month is over, and he's been to more planets in that one month than he usually sees in six. Sometimes he's sure he barely missed Finn; other times he is clearly in the wrong place, and lets instinct guide him back to the path. He was due back on Lothal two weeks ago, but something drives him: he can't give up now. He feels like he's getting closer.

He returns to Trindello, still in the guise he's adopted as bounty hunter: dark fatigues with a black helmet that covers his eyes, and a full beard gone mostly grey. His last intel had put Finn back where he'd started, and Poe wishes more than anything they could catch up to each other already. He's done with run-down spaceports, with hiding behind the façade of a bounty hunter, with avoiding the First Order. He misses the others on Lothal and hopes they are safe; he misses his time on Yavin IV, where his only worry was food and shelter; and he misses Finn more than anything. He feels like if he can find Finn, everything will be okay.

He finds something to eat in shady cantina by the landing bays and rents a room for the night when he falls asleep at the table only to wake up to someone trying to lift his blaster. He will find Finn in the morning. He has to.

* * *

Finn's day job this week is loading wood, and word spreads quickly among the other workers that there are two new hunters in town, both looking for the same asset, a former Resistance fighter who disappeared after Exegol. Finn is glad they don't even look twice at him, since he's pretty sure he's the asset. He hopes one of the hunters is Poe, but worries what a second one might mean.

He heads to one of the more disreputable bars in town after work, where smugglers and hunters exchange intel, the one where he'd first had word of Poe. He takes a table by himself, BB-8 by his side. Scanning the crowd, he reaches out with the Force, hoping that he will somehow recognize Poe if he's there. A man enters, dressed in black, talking with a female Zisian. The man in black stops and stares, and Finn feels a shock of recognition through the Force. He half wonders if Poe feels it as well, because he starts to smile, then stops, nods, and steers the Zisian toward the bar.

Finn's not sure what to do. He watches them closely, as they have a drink, then another, and shake hands. He thinks he knows what Poe might be planning, but is still surprised when the other man stands up, cocks his head toward Finn's table, and walks over with the Zisian.

Finn tells BB-8 to hide under the table and remain quiet, then sits back, as casually as he can as he studies Poe. He looks tired, thinner. Black is too severe for him and makes him look pale. A helmet conceals the top of his face, and a thick beard shot with silver covers the rest. His eyes, however—his eyes are bright and determined, and are studying Finn as closely as he is watching Poe.

Poe sits down next to him, a feeling so warm and familiar Finn sucks in a breath and hopes the Zisian didn't notice. Stars, how he had missed this man, working with him, fighting with him. The Zisian sits across from them, orange eyes glittering in the dim light. Poe turns his back to the bar and offers Finn a shark smile—apparently, he's in character, so Finn plays along.

"Been looking for you, friend," Poe says. "I'm afraid you'll have to come with us."

"And why would I do that?" Finn keeps his voice as bland as possible, even though inside his heart is racing.

"Because we don't want to break your legs and carry you out," the Zisian growls. Poe rolls his eyes.

"What she said," Poe says. "Sorry about her, but we made a deal to split you. Literally, if necessary. So you should probably come quietly or she'll make good on her words."

The Zisian stands, motions at Finn with a concealed blaster. Poe gives him the barest of nods, so Finn stands as well and follows them to the back and out into a dark alley, BB-8 trailing behind.

Not exactly how he thought he'd find Poe, but at least they are together again.

* * *

Poe is itching to rip off his helmet, to grab Finn and run, but he stays in character, leading him through the back of the bar into an alley outside. He resists the desire to touch Finn's arm and reassure him that everything is going to be okay, or to crouch down and rub his droid. Finn looks calm and collected, but also different: he's thinner though he still looks strong, with his hair grown out and a short beard, and a horrific scar on the left side of his face that goes down his neck, and evens affects his hand.

What the hell happened to him? It's been almost a year. A year since Exegol. He's finally found Finn, caught up with him after searching a dozen systems. Poe's heart is hammering. All he wants to do is pull him into a never-ending embrace. Why did he have to run into the Zisian bounty hunter?

As soon as they step outside, the Zisian shoves her blaster in Poe's face. BB-8 squeals in alarm and hides behind Finn. "Don't even think about it," she hisses at him.

"Think about what?" Poe demands. "What the hell is going on? We had a deal!"

"We agreed to bring in the Resistance general together," the Zisian says. "But why should I do that when I could bring in two?"

Poe freezes, but Finn bursts out laughing almost immediately, laughing so hard he bends over. "Resistance general? Him?" The Zisian is momentarily distracted by Finn's wheezing laughter, and Poe moves his hand toward his own hidden blaster. "He's too scruffy to be a general." Finn stands up straight, the look on his face abruptly serious. "And you're too stupid to be a bounty hunter." With a push of his hand, the bounty hunter goes flying into the wall behind her and slumps to the ground.

Poe stares, then turns and rips off his helmet. "Finn?" he asks, suddenly wondering if maybe this isn't the man he remembers.

"Yeah, it's me. Guess you know what I wanted to tell Rey now."

Poe stares some more, trying to understand, until his lip starts to curl up. Finn relaxes, offers a small smile. Poe grins back, until he is laughing so hard he is crying, only he's crying because he's finally, _finally,_ found Finn, and Finn is in his arms. They are both crying and laughing and holding on so tight Poe can hardly breathe. BB-8 is rolling back and forth with excitement. There is a sound from behind them.

Poe turns and shoots the rising bounty hunter in the head.

She drops like a rock. Too stupid indeed.

* * *

Finn stares at the Zisian, dead on the ground before them. He's about to say something when the old Twi'lek who'd helped him appears. He presses something into Poe's hand and wishes them both godspeed before leaving as mysteriously as he appeared.

"We gotta go," Poe says. "When they find her, they'll want to talk to me."

"She double-crossed you," Finn points out. "How did you end up working with her anyway?"

"I couldn't shake her," Poe says. "So I made a deal, figured we'd knock her out at some point and run for it. I didn't want to kill her."

"She knew who we were," Finn points out. "And that's not a good thing right now."

"No, it's not," Poe murmurs. BB-8 bumps into him, and Poe crouches down to rub his droid's round dome. "Hey, buddy, it is good to see you." The droid whistles so fast Finn can barely follow even after spending a year with him. Poe grins and laughs. "Yeah, I missed you too! You two been taking care of each other?" There is an affirmative beep, and Poe leans his head against BB-8 and sighs. "Thank you," he murmurs, then sits back after a long moment. "Hey, can you read this for us?"

He inserts whatever the old Twi'lek had handed off—it looks like a credit chip—and BB-8 beeps in excitement. "Wait, how much?" Finn asks. Poe's eyes are wide.

"That's enough credits to…to…"

"Rebuild the Resistance?" Finn suggests quietly, and Poe stands.

"You don't have to go back," he says. "You could take half, do whatever you want, whatever you've been doing for the last year." He stops and studies Finn. "What have you been doing for the last year?"

"Looking for you," Finn tells him. There will be time to tell him the rest later.

"And learning about the Force?" Poe asks. "That's really what you had to tell her?" When Finn nods silently, Poe holds out his hand and pulls him into another embrace. "I'm sorry you didn't have the chance," he murmurs. "She would have been so happy, and so proud." He steps back and looks Finn in the eye. "And so am I."

Finn raises an eyebrow. "Then why are you trying to get rid of me?" he asks. "Or were you thinking we'd run away together?"

Poe's face crinkles into a smile. "Actually, that's not a bad idea. But I have to go back. These credits…even half this many will get us ships, and weapons, and supplies…it's incredible! But you—"

"Yeah, yeah," Finn stops him before he can say it again. "I don't have to go back. Only maybe I want my chance to be a general for more than a day. So where are we going? You have a ship big enough for two?"

"We're on Lothal now," Poe tells him. "And yes, I've got a two-seater Y-wing. I've been looking for you for weeks, tracking you through every seedy spaceport I could."

"And I've been waiting for you to catch up since I got here, so let's go. I'm done with this place." He starts toward the end of the alley, but Poe grabs his hand and holds tight.

"Finn," he starts, his eyes darting from Finn's face to their hands and back to Finn's face. "I feel like I should say something deep and meaningful, only…" He seems genuinely tongue-tied. "I'm just so glad you're alive. That I finally found you." He swallows thickly. Finn steps closer.

"I knew we'd find each other, one day," Finn tells him. "I'm sorry it took so long. We have a lot of work to do."

Poe laughs, wipes at his eyes. "That's all you're thinking about? Getting back to work?"

"It's pretty bad out there," Finn tells him. He puts both his hands on Poe's shoulders and rests his forehead against the other man's dark hair. "But we can do it," he murmurs. "Together." He presses a kiss to Poe's lips, not too long, but not short. His beard is scratchy and full, his lips soft and welcoming. It's not something Finn had planned on doing when he saw Poe again, and yet now that he has, he knows it is right, and can't wait to do it again.

Poe looks positively dazed when Finn steps back. "What was that for?"

"I'm not sure," Finn answers honestly. "But I'd like to find out."

Poe's smile is brighter than the sun. "Okay. Yeah. Me too."

"Then let's go home," Finn says. He is ready to leave Trindello, to leave the last year behind him. He is ready to move on, to rebuild the Resistance. And he is ready to do it all by Poe's side, together.

**Author's Note:**

> For finnpoe-wizard, whose simple comment on Tumblr inspired this: "Stories with journeys to find loved ones against all odds are my weakness." This is what popped into my head! I'm sure it's nothing like what you may have expected, but I couldn't resist the pull of plotting out their journey after losing at Exegol so I hope it is enjoyed anyway. Thank you to mssrj_335 for their help, and thank you for reading!


End file.
